Firebird returns to the stage with Our Town, a fresh look at the beloved American classic by Thornton Wilder. 80 years after Wilder’s brilliantly bittersweet portrait of small-town life first opened on Broadway, the people of Grover’s Corners are back on the small stage, and they’re almost ready to get started... in just a minute... any day now...

This performance-centric take on Our Town thrusts the Stage Manager narrator into the (possibly busted) spotlight. Leaning into Wilder’s famous use of theatrical convention and absent fourth wall, this visit to Grover’s Corners is visually styled after a tech rehearsal, where time is precious, somehow both sluggishly dragging and swiftly running out.

The play is called Our Town. It was written by Thornton Wilder and produced by us.Our Town will perform April 27th-29th, 2018, at the Hudson Guild Theatre in NYC.

"Over the Bed" is a compendium of brief, dreamlike tales from the worlds just next door to our own. From recipes for immortality to the shape of the world's edge, this little book contains everything that slips through the cracks when we wake up - gathered into a line-up of bite-sized stories that bite back. Eerie, heartfelt, and personal, this collection invites to look through the dark for the things that scare us, things that heal us, and things that watch us sleep.

Firebird Youth Theater, Leo’s teen-run theater company, recently produced a stage adaptation of Romeo + Juliet, directed by Leo. In August 2017, National Youth Arts granted Firebird Youth Theater four awards and one nomination, including an award for outstanding direction.

Wingspan Arts‘ Summer production of Into the Woods performed August 13th, 14th, and 15th, featuring Leo as The Baker. This innovative production of the classic musical was directed by Marissa Porto, and is Leo’s sixth Wingspan production (following The Wiz, Annie, Shrek the Musical, Romeo and Juliet, and Godspell).

Patrick Farenga interviewed Firebird Youth Theater founder Leo Lion and another teen director from Boston about their work in youth-led theater, for a piece on the John Holt blog, Growing Without Schooling. Check out his article, “More Teenage Drama? Yes!”

Romeo and Juliet is the most famous love story of all time – but who is it really about? Firebird’s answer is: “It’s about teenagers.” Grounding their production in the evocative themes of youth and growth, FYT is pulling age to the foreground with a mixed-age cast of adults and teens. This intergenerational, present-day take on the Elizabethan classic is tailored to resonate with modern teenagers and make the trials of the play’s young heroes hit close to home for the new generation.

This age-centric production is fraught with significance for the award-winning Firebird Youth Theater, which is run entirely by teenagers. ROMEO + JULIET will be the company’s fifth annual production, following last year’s world-premiere of a new adaptation of the literary classic Treasure Island. Firebird’s past two shows both received National Youth Arts awards for Direction and Ensemble. This year’s production is FYT’s first to feature adult actors. 17-year-old director Leo Lion says, “Romeo and Juliet is usually performed either with adults or with youth actors, never with both. Putting the true number of years between these children and their parents gives the story new life. We’re a teen-run company committed to creating adult-grade work – who is better suited to tell this story?”

Leo is a winner of 2016's NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), having completed the first draft of a novel in 30 days. The current manuscript of the novel, which is called "After", received a Gold Key for Novel Writing in the 2018 Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards.

Firebird Youth Theater, Leo’s teen-run theater company, recently produced a stage adaptation of Treasure Island, directed by Leo. In August 2016, National Youth Arts granted Firebird Youth Theater four awards and five nominations, including an award for outstanding direction.

Wingspan Arts‘ Summer production of Godspell performed August 11th, 13th, and 14th, featuring Leo as Judas/John. This colorful, electric, and starkly relevant production of the 2011 revival of the classic musical, was directed by Valerie Issembert, and is Leo’s fifth Wingspan production (following The Wiz, Annie, Shrek the Musical, and Romeo and Juliet).

Leo’s play Clean Hands was produced as part of Writopia Lab’s Worldwide Plays Festival on May 21st, 2016. The play was directed by Kristin Skye Hoffmann.

This war drama brings two enemies in close proximity. In this volatile space, the young soldier Wes is forced to consider impossible questions: what is strength and what is weakness in a war zone? Is he a killer or a kid? Can he live with either option?